120 Comments

• STEVENSTAR | Dec 06, 2012, 08:08 PM EST

  @YOUNDPIKE ... START WITH YOUR OWN GRUDGES MATE AND YOU'LL SOON BE A HAPPIER PERSON...

• STEVENSTAR | Aug 25, 2012, 11:35 PM EDT

  @@@@@STEVENSTAR | Aug 05, 2012, 05:06 AM EDT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> IS NOT MY COMMENT SOMEONE HAS OBVIOUSLY COPIED MY NAME OR HACKED MY ACCOUNT !! WEIRD !!

• YoungPike | Aug 14, 2012, 05:52 AM EDT

  The English don't bear a grudge! Despite being bombed to smithereens for six years by the Luftwaffe, they hold no ill-will toward the Germans! You will find English people cheering on the Irish, Scots, and Welsh teams, without it being reciprocated. Sadly, I believe the Irish will bear a grudge until Armageddon!

• STEVENSTAR | Aug 13, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT

  WHAT A FANTASTIC OLYMPIC CEREMONY FROM START TO FINISH AND AS AN IRISHMAN IM WELL PROUD OF OUR NEAREST NEIGHBORS. I THINK THIS NEWSPAPER IS VERY AMERICAN NOT REALLY IRISH AND I ALSO FEEL ALOT OF AMERICANS ' HATE' TO SEE US IRISH GET ON NOW SO MUCH BETTER WITH THE BRITISH PEOPLE.. YOUR ARTICLES IN THIS NEWSPAPER FROM IRISH UK RELATIONS TO THE QUEENS VISIT HAVE ALL BEEN 'NEGATIVE AND IT PLAYS TO THE AMERICAN AUDIENCE AND THE EVER DECREASING IRISH REPULICANS WHO ARE SO STUCK IN A BAD PLACE, IM IRISH I LIVE HERE AND MOST OF US THINK THE BRITISH PEOPLE PUT ON AN AMAZING CEREMONY AND WILL BE HARD TO BEAT IT !!! BUT KEEP UP ALL YOUR NASTY COMMENTS AS THIS NEWSPAPER IS A FANTASTIC FORUM TO VOICE YOUR NASTY COMMENTS AS LONG AS YOU KNOW ITS NOT THE OPINION OF MANY IRISH BORN BRED AND WHO LIVE IN IRELAND LIKE MYSELF!! HAVE A GOOD DAY YE ALL !!

• STEVENSTAR | Aug 05, 2012, 05:06 AM EDT

  Niall O'Dowd the writer of this rubbish is full of same old same old recycled painting everyone with the same brush biggotary. Having fled Ireland to head to the USA he talks as if hes in London. All from a distance without talking to Londoners or English people. The English people here in England are not shouting for the Republic of Ireland competitors at all. The shout is for Team GB. @Patricksq if the Amercian people had not provided funding for a terrorist organisation such as the IRA lots of my fellow citizens in places like my home town Omagh County Tyrone would not have died. If its ok for Amercians to give money to terrorist to kill people in Nothern Ireland then it must be OK for protestants in Northern Ireland to give money to al-quaeda to kill Amercian citizens in New York. Whats the difference. We could actually dress it up a bit and pretend we are giving money to the families of those killed by americian drones and say the money is for the children and those whom have suffered by americian bombing. (Knowing the money actually goes for buying bomb materials, paying bombers, etc). We could call it Iraqaid or Afganaid since the IRA called theirs Noraid. The americians should stop funding terrorism and then we would believe you when you say "we are fighting terrorism".

• allan07 | Aug 05, 2012, 04:43 AM EDT

  Niall O'Dowd the writer of this tall story is taking rubbish. Nothing new in that. He writes from the USA were he fled many years ago. In London the English are not shouting for the Republic of Ireland competitors at all. The shout is for Team GB. Great Britain. The reasons are obvious. Its Great Britains games at a huge cost in these harsh times of economic suffering. The other reason is there are no descent competitors from the Republic of Ireland to shout for. They are rubbish. So far its 0 gold, 0 silver and 0 bronze for the ROI.

• freekazilla | Aug 03, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT

  The new ROYAL / No, she is no rose, Nor a flower made of brass, She's no classless lass, No albino gorilla, Butt a ROYAL Camilla.

• jimquad | Aug 03, 2012, 08:24 AM EDT

  This is very confusing. Even at the height of "the troubles" I was not aware of major anti-irish feeling in the UK. Even on the days women and children got blown up my parents explained it was the IRA and not the Irish. So dont know why you portray this as hatred amongst the people. Must be a USA outlook to hate everyone.

• patrickesq | Aug 02, 2012, 09:27 PM EDT

  The Irish are 'survivors' and they will, and should, be respected for what they have endured and achieved. Despite the history of national enmity and hatred between the countries, we have to live in the present and welcome the enhanced relations that promotes our common humanity and shared values. This is my American perspective having Irish ancestors.

• Jim Clarke | Aug 02, 2012, 09:17 PM EDT

  ManOfReason - what happened when Peter King visited Ireland? I'm genuinely curious. I didn't hear that story.

• Jim Clarke | Aug 02, 2012, 02:23 PM EDT

  I don't think it is appreciated how Irish we British are with an estimated 6 million of us, like me, having at least one Irish grandparent. Also very many people of English stock were absorbed into the Irish population unlike the Ulster Scots who tended to remain more separated. Irish is the most positively-viewed ethnicity among English-speaking peoples. The British are no different in seeing it this way. I remembered my friends with no Irish ancestry fervently supporting the Irish football team as early as the 1980s - even at the height of the troubles. Work still needs to be done on understanding An Gorta Mór and its aftermath and the importance of Irish unity, but the British are beginning to catch up. There is something about freedom also freeing the oppressor.

• Sparklet | Aug 02, 2012, 12:24 PM EDT

  I agree zoomhoody, but there's also an element of envy involved - ancavker says the Irish don't have the confidence to stand on their own. I don't agree. I think in some ways, the Irish have more confidence than the Brits at the moment. We're confident about our own standing as a nation - we're loved and respected worldwide. Despite the current financial fiasco, that means a lot, and there aren't many nations that can claim that. A lot of English love the laid back attitude of the Irish, and their whole take on life.

• zoomhoody | Aug 02, 2012, 12:09 PM EDT

  @Sparklet: agree with your view that it may be reciprocity for the QE2 visit. Also think, as a UK resident, that the Brits tend to be well-disposed towards the Irish because there is much in common culturally.

• ancavker | Aug 02, 2012, 11:49 AM EDT

  Manofreason: And remember, the reason why the Irish are so similar to the English, is simply the fact that so many copy and imitate the English, it is not the other way around. More than a few Irish do not have the confidence to stand on their own, and constantly look across the water to London. Yes part of that is because Ireland is over shadowed-by its larger neighbor, but the the disdain that more than a few Irish show for their own country and culture is sad. And I say that as an Irish born person, with deep connections there. Other countries such as Finland and Norway are over shadowed by larger neighbors, and yet they have done a far better job of preserving who they are, they are not looking to Stockholm or Moscow for an identity.

• zoomhoody | Aug 02, 2012, 11:19 AM EDT

  @Irishiker60: you really are antediluvian in your "thinking", if that's not too complex a description of your intellectual functioning. Perhaps you should move to Ireland, it's running short on witless armchair terrorists and perhaps you'd get to understand how far from the truth your prejudices are. I don't blame the English (or more particularly, the British) for what their previous governments did to Ireland although those governments should be held to account. Things have moved on, a lot, you haven't.

• Kilsally | Aug 02, 2012, 07:53 AM EDT

  easily explained when England / Great Britain has as many people of Irish/Ulster descent in it than live in Ireland

• molliepmac | Aug 01, 2012, 08:25 PM EDT

  MODERATOR - THE POST BELOW IS NOT MINE - WHY HAS IT GOT MY NAME ATTACHED - BEGINNING;- molliepmac | Aug 01, 2012, 06:16 PM EDT Sparklet, my grandfather's parents immigrated from Ireland but my older cousin tells me he was proud to have grown up a Cockney.

• aloistmartin | Aug 01, 2012, 07:50 PM EDT

  curtisjohnson@ Bravo ! But do wee support the Real I.R.A. ( Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ~Famous Irish Philosopher

• molliepmac | Aug 01, 2012, 06:48 PM EDT

  Curitiba I agree - David McWilliams does seem to have an understanding of the connection between people of Irish heritage and the country of their ancestors - Ireland. He has often written of the 'remittance men and women 'whose financial contributions kept the State afloat in the 1920s - 1980s and the goodwill of their UK/US born children and grandchildren towards Ireland – those same people who were rejected by the Celtic Tiger and its cubs as plastic paddies. Now the goodwill has to be earned again -is that possible and how can it be achieved when so many Irish born appear to lack any knowledge of the historic links. Indeed are positively venomous towards the diaspora. Is that a post-colonial trait? Who said 'when a people turn their backs on their own heritage and culture they are truly colonised' - an African statesman I believe.

• molliepmac | Aug 01, 2012, 06:16 PM EDT

  Sparklet, my grandfather's parents immigrated from Ireland but my older cousin tells me he was proud to have grown up a Cockney. I know the government failure to protect Irish lives from starvation was unforgivable but that was the government and we are in truth a family of peoples in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. When I visited Dublin earlier this year the cab driver told me about travelling on the ferry to watch Liverpool play in his youth - so in fact the shared sporting interest is not only 1 way.

• Curitiba | Aug 01, 2012, 05:33 PM EDT

  molliepmac: I haven't looked in on David McWilliams' site for a while, but I have read quite a few good and thought-provoking articles on it.

• molliepmac | Aug 01, 2012, 05:02 PM EDT

  GregShox, Yes lots of references - Just a few examples;- David McWilliams identified the power of the diaspora when the Celtic Tiger collapsed - McWilliams, in his Irish Independent column, refers to “hard” and “soft powers” and says Ireland’s “greatest well of soft power that Ireland has is the diaspora, the great Irish tribe all around the world. They are our sales force.” He believes that the elders in the “tribe” can reinvent an economically wounded Ireland for future generations. From this idea came;- Global Irish Economic Forum To quote – “Government’s priorities for economic renewal, job creation and the restoration of Ireland’s reputation abroad and explore how the Irish, at home and abroad, and those with a strong interest in Ireland, can work together to contribute to our overall efforts at economic renewal” Also see;- Ireland reaching out. The Gathering 2013 The Ireland Funds Our mission is to be the largest network of friends of Ireland dedicated to supporting programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland Of course the other evidence is the diaspora along with other citizens via taxes paid in the UK and US contributing to the IMF and EU and UK bail out contributions.

• GregShox | Aug 01, 2012, 03:19 PM EDT

  molliepma -- I haven't seen much evidence of the diaspora /plastic paddies bailing anyone out. Have you? And if so, could you provide hard references, please?

• molliepmac | Aug 01, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT

  Back to the original article. I would agree with the earlier posters – many of the people cheering at the opening ceremony will have Irish heritage – hence an extra cheer for Ireland. Support from the ’plastic paddies’ so loathed by the likes of Ciaradexy – but so loved by her government who are looking to the diaspora/plastic paddies to bail them out. Naive to think that the audience was made up solely of ‘ordinary’ English people. Rather think it would have been an international affair. Ordinary English people – ie those with no connection to Ireland would in general have no interest in the Irish team.

• GregShox | Aug 01, 2012, 02:52 PM EDT

  Silling -- Cuir méar i do thóin, a mhála buinnigh. That's Irish, a language you don't claim to parler tout le temps, mais peut-être you do, un petit-peu. Would you like me to translate it for you? Or maybe not. I'd say you get the drift. What's the French for pretentious tosser?

• Sparklet | Aug 01, 2012, 01:32 PM EDT

  ManofReason, are you sure you're not me? And why am I suddenly thinking about Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men...

• ManOfReason | Aug 01, 2012, 01:02 PM EDT

  I care because I relate to these people, millions and millions have been murdered and oppressed by the USA in the exact same way that the British oppressed us. I have no sense of affinity to any "Irish" American who cannot admit the disgusting crimes of his country, and I don't care if their surname is O'Reilly or if they "hate de Brits" or his great granny was from Mayo. I'm against all oppression, and the USA is currently the world's biggest terrorist (along with it's lapdogs like the UK and even the Irish government a.k.a Shannon airport) You are either with it or against it - if you are in favour of Yank imperialism then you are not going to be welcome in Ireland (as Peter King discovered)...

• ManOfReason | Aug 01, 2012, 12:59 PM EDT

  . "what did they ever do to you?" Nothing personally. What crimes has the USA committed against humanity? Where does one begin!? I find it rather amusing that, as an American, you seem to lambast Britain for its colonial past without even mentioning that of your own country. Did you forget about the native American genocidal campaign? The carpet-bombing Cambodia and Laos, which left hundreds of thousands, if not millions of innocent civilians dead. You left an estimated 2 - 5 million dead in Vietnam, The fact that your government support's the, and dare I say it, Nazi-esque state of Israel, with its oppressive jackboot firmly pressing against the throats of the Palestinians? How about the upwards of one million Iraqis murdered through sanctions and war? Fallujah? The Haditha massacre where your terrorist army even shot dead elderly Arabs in wheelchairs. the murder of Patrice Lumumba? The murder of 1,000,000 in the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century, carpet bombing of Afghan civilians in 2001, the murdering of Somalis, Pakistanis and people in the Yemen with drones (including women and children), the vicious crackdown in Bahrain with US support, throwing the people of Diego Garcia off their island along with the Brit government so you can bomb Arabs. Latin America!? The US believes in illegal coups, assassinations and murder squads. Its history in Latin America is well documented and considers the whole of the western hemisphere as its back yard to do as it pleases. Don't get me onto lapdog UK.

• ManOfReason | Aug 01, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT

  I'm not "kissing ass", Irish people and English people do generally get along, and we are quite similar. I despise the British government, but we have more in common with the English, Welsh and Scots than we do with the Irish American community on an social level. Nobody is jealous of America Kevin, this is not 1950, what the hell are we meant to be jealous of? A military industrial complex? Corporate control of government? The christian right? Millions and millions without healthcare? Massive and rising inequality? You have no moral authority and have a history both past and present that is soaked in the blood of millions and millions and millions. Irish Americans cannot lampoon the UK and ignore the endless crimes of the USA around the world.

• ciaradexy | Aug 01, 2012, 12:53 PM EDT

  Silling, i can tell that English isnt your mother tongue but its unlikely irish is either plus stay off the hash, its making you babble. manOfReason, you make some good points. Kevin, Man is Irish, you are not. Remember theres a difference.

• Sparklet | Aug 01, 2012, 12:47 PM EDT

  Silling....re Ciara. He? I'm assuming that some joke on your part I don't get. But it's been a long day.

• Kevin Longan | Aug 01, 2012, 12:13 PM EDT

  Man of Reason, what a pompous ass you are! Why don't you write your name, not some pansy pseudonym? Obviously you have jealousy of America, what did they ever do to you? Keep kissing England's ass and stop denigrating people you know nothing about. You make me ashamed to be a so-called Plastic Paddy, you puke.

• Silling | Aug 01, 2012, 12:09 PM EDT

  Sparklet. South and far from nesting places, traumatized by some unwelcome foe. From this new abode, a dream was born, their plumes became the weapon of yet another war. One of which the enemy could never dream to win. Blue blood spilt across the parchment and told a story of which denial brought upon those who did denounce, a scorn. Then, as the phoenix, or they who blocked the gates of Rome, a silent fury came to haunt DESERVING OFFSPRING OF ANOTHER AGE.

• Silling | Aug 01, 2012, 12:03 PM EDT

  For Ciaradexy. J'habite en France, dans le midi et je parle Francais tout le temps, jamais anglaise comme vous meme. En plus, peut-être vous etes domicile en Angleterre, et pour ça vous avez un frite sur votre epaule. Do you want me to translate that in your maternal tongue Ciaradexy? If you are reading this Sparklet, can you have a word with Ciaradexy and tell him that the moon is almost full, we have 325 clear blue skies in Provence. If he is in Ireland, where some people have yet to see a full moon, he most likely is not aware and hence his current state of mind. Tell him that if he is not careful, I will not put him in the play.

• TayandCake | Aug 01, 2012, 10:56 AM EDT

  I wouldn't say the british are bothered if the irish cheer for them or not, they're still superior.

• ManOfReason | Aug 01, 2012, 10:49 AM EDT

  The reality is, the English and the Irish share much more in common than the Irish and some plastic paddy Yanks do (I say this as a proud Irish born resident). We share the same humour, sports interests, outlook on life and so on. As for an "Irish" American lampooning the UK for crimes, what about your own disgusting country? Millions dead in Vietnam, South America, Iraq, Palestine, Africa and so on all on your hands..you are even worse than the Brit government!!

• Sparklet | Aug 01, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT

  Silling, in what way am I changeable? I've always said that I loathe the English who perpetrated disgusting and unforgiveable crimes against Ireland - but I'm not old testament and think the sins of the fathers etc. I live in England, have English friends, an English husband, and am insulted on their behalf when I see the English generally insulted on here. I am pro-reunification, but don't want it to happen through violence. But thank you for getting my gender right. Not everyone manages that.

• ciaradexy | Aug 01, 2012, 09:35 AM EDT

  Silling, whatever you think of me, Im irish not American. Its what the irish think that counts and if youre still a hater of the English then you need a dose of cop on. Why dont you boycott the British and all their goods? maybe take a stand, big man. Dick.

• Silling | Aug 01, 2012, 08:27 AM EDT

  Is the red hand of Ulster right or left? If right, then perhaps the queens mitten might fit it. So, Why are the English cheering for the Irish? Simple, " All that glistens is not gold " as the Paddies discovered when they excavated the streets of London after being sold the fairytale of New York by Wimpey.

• Silling | Aug 01, 2012, 08:18 AM EDT

  The Glove Of Peace. A Play by Silling, with GregShox,Sparklet,StRobion,Cairadexy and a supporting cast, bASED on the story by Niall O'Dowd. Recruiting for the piece is currently taking place on this site. Please send your anonymous CV c/o Niall O'Dowd attention " SILLING ".

• Silling | Aug 01, 2012, 08:10 AM EDT

  I just had an idea for a play based on this post of Niall O'Dowd's. I will use as many of the code name characters as possible. I like the naivety of Greg Shox and the changeable Miss Sparklet who runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds. St Roibard is a solid character. Ciaradexy suffers from Schizophrenia. Write to Silling if you would like to be in the play, the rehersals are over. Also, if there is one among you who wishes to become involved in this comic skit, step forward.

• Towngate | Aug 01, 2012, 07:21 AM EDT

  EamonnDublin, @ Jul 31 02.47 /DrTrelawney @ Jul 31 03.09, and cairadexy @ Jul 31 03.09: Thanks for your interesting responses. The little bit of ‘teasing’ in my Comment has blown you slightly off-course intellectually .... My point is that there is no such identity as ‘Northern Ireland’ in Olympic terms. Yes, of course, they can choose which flag they march under, and by marching under the Republic’s Tricolour, they are NOT representing the Republic – but “IRELAND”. ~~~ The history of the islands Olympic identity has been contended since at least 1906 = yes, even before part of the country broke away ...and is even more complicated than the islands convoluted political history :- ‘Ireland’ 1922 , then briefly ‘The Free State’ – later ‘Ireland’ again. An attempted designation of ‘Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ which would have led to a ‘Republic of Ireland’ identity, was roundly rejected, so it has been simply ‘Ireland’ ever since. The IOC is wrong to force athletes from Northern Ireland to ‘appear’ to have switched allegiances by marching under a ‘foreign’ flag ...when the matter could be easily resolved by having a special Olympic Flag for Ireland which everyone could respect and understand.

• STAN123 | Aug 01, 2012, 07:19 AM EDT

  With 200,000 people set to emigrate from Ireland to the Uk over the next decade, it shows what a failed scociety ioreland has been for the past 90 yrs. As for irish Americans, direct your ire at the muslims who rightly detest touy for invading their land and stealing their oil and murderring their children.Contrast the sentences that Jack Holmes will receive compared with Sergeant rober t Bales whho muirdered 16 civilians in Afgahnaistan. Like the thugs who murdered thousands in Vietnam's holocaust, Bales will walk away a fre man in 6 months.Vietnam genocide = usa shame. 9/11 evened things.

• IrelandNorth | Aug 01, 2012, 06:51 AM EDT

  "... clapped and cheered widely", because English think Irish are British? If Irish were to lack hypothetical reciprocity, perhaps due to Anglo/British conquest/colonisation of Ireland - displacement of its indigenous people to the four winds - confiscating its land to grant to its Anglo-Scot collaborators - partitioning its Island when its imperial experiment went pear-shaped. Irish sports fans will cheer loudly for auld Brittania when Ireland is reunited. Actions speak louder than words. Apologies only a precursor. The Irish will truly be free and independent when they no longer give two hoots what anyone thinks of them - including their ertstwhile colonisers. Otherwise their presumed independence is merely the inverted colonialism of imperial codependency. Most young Britons are as historically revised as their Irish counterparts. They were socially conditioned to see all of Ireland as still part of the UK despite inconvenient truths of history. Anglo-British ruling class pursued/-s(?) policy of denying a seperatist Ireland. Which mythology has prevailed after intervening 90 years. Anglo-British ruling class damaged Ireland most, but her Black 'n' Tan/1 Para class unsconscious proletarian foot soldiers did the dirty work for them. Borders in people's minds. Only subsequently inflicted on territory. Cheer may have been for an as yet to be announced reunited Ireland's return to the Commonwealth of Nations. Thing is, will we be apologising for our forefathers temerity in stiking a blow for a subsequently imperfect freedom. What Brittania failed to get by conquest and colonisation, She'll endeavour to get by charming and seducing an eminently impressionable and narcissistic peoples.

• ciaradexy | Aug 01, 2012, 05:38 AM EDT

  Sparklet, only since He signed his post by Kev408 as G.Dillon! He walked right into it! Curtis Johnson, great English name by the way! Stop patronising us. Irishhiker, another American telling the Irish how we should be? Seriously? Crawl back into your box.

• Sparklet | Aug 01, 2012, 05:17 AM EDT

  Incidentally, has anyone considered that maybe the Brits were showing their appreciation for the fantastic reception Ireland gave QE2?

• Sparklet | Aug 01, 2012, 02:58 AM EDT

  Irishhiker...the crimes against Ireland should never be forgotten or forgiven. As long as it's the people who perpetrated those crimes that you blame. You can't blame the ordinary people of today for what happened - and you're so wrong about English people not feeling shame over what happened. Those who are aware of it at least, and many aren't so there's definitely a lack of education. But your racist generalisation is offensive and not shared by Irish people - are you one, or are you just one of those whose family once owned an Irish setter?

• citizen69 | Aug 01, 2012, 01:38 AM EDT

  I think this article is a bit rich coming, as it does, from Niall o'Dowd. He still carries a huge anti-British Chip on his shoulder (you just need to look at his recent posts to see that). He likes to feed that cancer by sharing his rants with with his target audience, Irish-America, many of whom (under Niall's influence) share his same spiteful views.

• branagh | Aug 01, 2012, 12:16 AM EDT

  The premise is a bit questionable for starters. 1. The opening ceremony-a good number from around the globe! For natives,a good few with Irish ancestries or sympathies (this would include some English people). To infer that BRITS with no connection to Ireland were going bananas is a bit silly. 2. Related to [1],Danny Boyle,a mother born in Ireland and a father from Irish people! Then,one of the more thrilling moments Kenneth Branagh from Belfast. Then,so many Irish were involved in the construction of the facilities for the OLYMPICS 3. As seen from the comments here,there are no hard facts that native Brits go looney for the Irish - and that's fine with me. Why should they?. Obviously,there are BRITS well disposed because of some cultural or personal contacts or historical appreciation for what was inflicted. But you are making conclusions for which there is no science-who's cheering,ethnic background,family connections with Ireland,cultural with Ireland,or are you from Italy,USA,France,Germany etc where there remains alot of goodwill to Ireland and the Irish and I regret alot to have to say this,alot more than in GB BUT I believe things are changing slowly. We should not forget the intensity of the racism endured by even the most recent generations of Irish in GB (entirely unrelated to the IRA although of course the '70-80 validated this discrimination and racism). Most paddies lived in a twilight zone in these tough times. In regard to support for the English,you are not fine tuning your premise very well - class sports people from England are as well received by the Irish as in their homeland (Beckham.Coe,Gerrard..).

• curtisjohnson | Jul 31, 2012, 11:16 PM EDT

  Unfortunately, aloismartin expresses the hard reality of the situation. Some of the posters here are the types of shallow mass consumer battery hens produced by Ireland's anglo oriented, anti Irish mass media which has expolited post-colonial self hatred to a kind of sick perfection.

• AlunPalmer | Jul 31, 2012, 10:25 PM EDT

  Shared ethnicity, that's me alright. I'm English, but I have Irish blood, or else why would I even be here? IME, the Irish from Ireland are prefectly nice to the Brits, it's Irish Americans who spout all the anti-British diatribes, and most of them have no more Irish in them than I do. But then, they've usually never been to Britain or met any Brits. It's so easy to hate people you've never met.

• aloistmartin | Jul 31, 2012, 07:05 PM EDT

  The post 911 Globalizationist Stranglehold of the European Union, the popularity of the "Peace Process" partition Isonomics ? Could Ireland be but one more Capitalist Globalizationist Fiasco, from Reunification with The British Empire @?..!

• Irishiker60 | Jul 31, 2012, 07:00 PM EDT

  We should never forgive the fecking brits for the inexcusable rape,murder, starvation, degradation of generations of IRISH people. Why should we? The brits are to stupid to even be ashamed of what happened. Ed Dunne, Shady, NY USA.

• Luciena Denson | Jul 31, 2012, 06:39 PM EDT

  O'Dowd, you have written several things recently that I considered not well thought out. This article makes up for all of them. It's a little like a line from a old song that I'm probably going to mangle, but it is absolutely true that peace begins with each individual person - or as in the words of the song, with me.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 06:32 PM EDT

  Ciara, how long have you been a Private eye? :) Are you putting them right?

• ciaradexy | Jul 31, 2012, 06:15 PM EDT

  Greg, arent you used to that yet?! I am! Just accept that some are full of sh1t and should focus on their own country instead of telling you and I how we should be.

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 06:07 PM EDT

  Plastic paddies telling native-born Irish what we should think. Nice work.

• ciaradexy | Jul 31, 2012, 06:01 PM EDT

  Ooo just thought some of you would like to know that George Dillon is posting under the name kev408 on the Irish Independent website. Hes telling posters that he was born, bred and currently lives in Ireland. Check it out even for the comedy value!!

• ciaradexy | Jul 31, 2012, 05:24 PM EDT

  Sparklet, thats all changing. Most of my mates ended up supporting England in the Euros and we are also rooting for many of the British athletes in the Olympics.

• ciaradexy | Jul 31, 2012, 05:23 PM EDT

  StRob, my grandparents are still here in Ireland! I see them every week. i show them great respect. I do not however claim to be from the same place as they are from, unlike your ilk. Youre not Irish but merely related to some. Ancavker.I have 4 weddings to attend here next year and I am dreading them! 3 dresses are gonna cost a fortune! My cousin from LA is getting married in Limerick in April, then 2 cousins who are sisters are getting married in Cavan in May and then my sister is getting married in Meath in September. The only saving grace is that none of them are having religious ceremonies so at least that bit will be quick! Rebelforce , those people are not irish but of Irish descent. Id have more in common with a person born in Ireland to Italian parents then I would with a person born in America to Irish parents. The Brits are a very confident nation and they get behind their athletes because they have some of the best in the world. Theres nothing wrong with that. We, on the other hand, do not! Jonno, nothing wrong with being a plastic! We actually embrace those who admit that they are instead of waffling on telling us how 'Irish' they really are!

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 04:48 PM EDT

  Jacob, you're right. And the English have no idea why they don't get the same response. It is a shame because I know that the Brits - bigots aside - feel a genuine sense of affinity with their neighbours, especiallly in sport, and that's why they cheer them on - they don't realise about the history because they were never affected by it, their ancestors weren't on the receiving end.

• canadianirish | Jul 31, 2012, 04:31 PM EDT

  "The US, British, and Irish teams got the largest cheers according to media who were there." I would also include Canada in that list. That's according to Canadian media who were there. :)

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 04:13 PM EDT

  St Roibard -- Therefore, you undergo none of the consequences we native Irish experience due to the relations between Ireland and Britain. Is that not correct?

• StRoibard | Jul 31, 2012, 04:08 PM EDT

  GregShox: as with far too many of "our" families, my father's greatgrandfather was the last surviving child of a family that was starved out. Relatives put him on a boat to America where he found a way to survive. Yes, I live in America, and yes, my family was originally from Ireland. And yes, I claim my Irish ancestry proudly. My mother's family came over in the late 1700s from County Tyrone, my father's from county Clare. My first visit back to Ireland was in the early 1960s when the only thing in abundance was dirt and beauty. Since then I've returned as often as possible. I'm sorry you have no respect for the trials our forbears were forced to endure. Perhaps some day you will develop that respect.

• ancavker | Jul 31, 2012, 04:05 PM EDT

  Ciara/Nicoletta: They do get on well in many cases, and they are similar. But keep in mind much of that similarity is simply the Irish copying imitating the English, and not the other way around. By the way ciara had a great time in Ireland, would have stayed longer but was not able to for this trip. Back again for a week in the Fall. 3 day weddings are great though!!!

• AmericanReader | Jul 31, 2012, 03:59 PM EDT

  The Olympics are about the race for excellence. Excellence in athletic performance has no race or creed and should not. Period.

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 03:45 PM EDT

  St Roibard -- You can take my post any way you like, but I mean you no apology. Pompous huffing and puffing will get you nowhere with me, kid. Are you by any chance an inhabitant of this country where I was born and raised or are you one of those trans-Atlantic folk who like to lecture us?

• Rebelforce | Jul 31, 2012, 03:41 PM EDT

  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that there are more Irish people living in Britain than in Ireland itself. The NYT once gave an estimate of over 8 million people of Irish descent living in England, Scotland and Wales.

• jonno99 | Jul 31, 2012, 03:40 PM EDT

  Are we sure the loud cheering wasn't just from the 'plastics' and we're just confusing them with the English natives themselves? Sure aren't they the same anyway haha (ps I'm a plastic)

• StRoibard | Jul 31, 2012, 03:35 PM EDT

  ciaradexy: "No one cares about your ancestors...grow up." Nice. Humane. Sweet. Too bad all yours didn't give up on sex altogether, as it was clearly wasted! You are an insult to every Irish man, woman, and child who starved to death in those days. Shame on you! Shame! Your grandparents would be ashamed of your cold disregard for them and their sacrifice for you. Shame on you! May your children regard you as highly as you regard your forbears.

• Jacob | Jul 31, 2012, 03:28 PM EDT

  I think English fans have always cheered on Welsh, Scots and Irish teams unless they were playing England. It's nothing new.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 03:16 PM EDT

  Eamonn, you're so right about the media. They're an embarrassment. I don't know if it's because they really think a Brit is going to win though. I think it's more desperate optimism, because Brits are great at coming second, third, or nowhere! The Press etc would have to be stupid to really believe the're going to win, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

• ciaradexy | Jul 31, 2012, 03:09 PM EDT

  Its brilliant that the Paddys and Brits get on so well. We are very alike after all. Its just a pity some Americans on this site have some weird obsession with the English. Towngate, people of NI can represent GB or IRL. StR. No one cares about your ancestors. They moved to the US and made a life for themselves. If your family died during an Gorta Mor, then you wouldnt be here. Grow up.

• StRoibard | Jul 31, 2012, 03:09 PM EDT

  GregShox: Son, I said what I said because it's true. You asked the question in a public forum. If you didn't want answers, you shouldn't have asked. And if you didn't want attitude, you shouldn't have insulted your and my ancestors' plight. I'll take your post as an apology.

• DrTrelawney | Jul 31, 2012, 03:04 PM EDT

  Towngate. Yikes! You really have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Do you? So, Mary Peters won her 1972 gold medal competing for the Republic of Ireland. Did she? It looks as if everybody else in the world has that wrong.

• EamonnDublin | Jul 31, 2012, 02:47 PM EDT

  "Towngate" - How can I put this politely? You got it badly wrong! Competitors from Northern Ireland do NOT have to "march behind the Republic's tricolour". Any competitor from Northern Ireland makes his/her own choice as to who he/she wishes to represent in the Olympic Games. There are individuals in this Olympic Games - as in previous ones - who were born in Northern Ireland and who CHOOSE to represent the Republic of Ireland. Similarly, there are competitors born in the North who CHOOSE to represent Great Britain. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 02:41 PM EDT

  StRoibazrd -- Don't lecture me. If you choose to take offence at what peoiple say, that's your problem, but you won't have an easy life with that attitude. Since you know nothing about my ancestors, I'll thank you not to speculate on what they did. Less of your insolence. Behave yourself.

• EamonnDublin | Jul 31, 2012, 02:36 PM EDT

  The Irish people have no problem whatsoever with the English people. We get on very well together. What the Irish people do NOT like is the superior attitude of the British MEDIA, which loudly proclaims prior to any sporting event that their man, woman or team is going to win it. This applies even to people such as Tim Henman, who never had a chance of winning Wimbledon. It also applies to the England soccer team in every World Cup, even though they have no chance. If the media just said they may do well and with a bit/lot of luck, succeed, then that would be OK. But it's the superior attitude that sticks in the craw. And yes, I know the competitor has to KNOW that he/she will win, but I'm talking about the media. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

• StRoibard | Jul 31, 2012, 02:35 PM EDT

  And by the way, Mr. O'Dowd, everyone in real journalism knows you don't generalise like that. "All changed utterly" is tantamount to such silly phrases as "A good time was had by all." Where'd you learn your craft, London?

• StRoibard | Jul 31, 2012, 02:33 PM EDT

  GregShox: yours was an ignorant and insulting comment! I lost several family members to the famine/holocaust in which the brits cooly removed shiploads of food from an island that was confined to rotten potatoes and begging. "Why are you still here"? Most likely because someone in your family background gave his or her life so your ancestor could have the last bit of nourishment. And it appears to have been wasted on your lineage! Shame on you for your insolence!

• Towngate | Jul 31, 2012, 02:29 PM EDT

  Niall, a chara. Don't get too excited! ~ To answer your question; You must have missed the fact that all the Athletes from the island west of Great Britain - for Olympic purposes, are deemed 'Irish' and so all compete as "Ireland" vis: There is NO separate identity North or South. All the Northern Irish competitors - of whatever persuasion - had to march behind the Republics Tricolour, so maybe the cheering of the London spectators is just an attempt to console them for their humiliation and reward their fortitude t! Finally, please recall the remarks of the BBC Commentator Scottish Hazel Irvine during the Parade: quote:"... the Irish are as welcome here as anyone else!". Would you care to ask her exactly what she meant by that? Especially considering her remarks about Rwanda: quote: "... a country of skills, not just Genocide!". Thinking of what she COULD (justifiably)have said about 'Ireland', I suppose we got off lightly!

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 02:22 PM EDT

  Tarashavon, there are still lingering racist comments on both sides of the Irish sea. There probably always will be. But the majority of us have moved on and respect each other. Even love and marry each other. :)

• Belphagor | Jul 31, 2012, 02:20 PM EDT

  Toorenagrena you have lived in England most of your life and have never seen English people cheer for ireland, wake up love you are English now, you cant stay irish forever hahaha.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 02:19 PM EDT

  Tooreenagrena - I find the UK just the opposite. Daley Thompson claims (maybe falsely, I don't know) that he was referring to the pronunciation of OYLMPIC. There will always be bigots, but my Irish friends and I don't have any problem in the UK. Irishmen are especially popular round where I live.

• Nicoletta | Jul 31, 2012, 02:12 PM EDT

  What a load of rubbish!! When are you going to realize that there are as many Irish/people of Irish origin in England as in Ireland - if not more. Every Irish family has a brother or sister and their families in England. Work as an ex-pat in mainland Europe and the two nationalities that get on the best, share the same sense of humor and sadly the same propensity to drink, are the Irish and the English.

• Fightin69th | Jul 31, 2012, 02:11 PM EDT

  Go to youtube and search "2007 Ireland England Rugby Croke Park", The moment that everyone was waiting for, was how "God Save The Queen" would be recieved. The Irish people responded well.

• Tooreenagrena | Jul 31, 2012, 02:07 PM EDT

  This article is completely wrong headed, naive and inaccurate. The cheer the Irish received was because of (a) the large number of people of Irish origin in London and (b) because the irish are not shy about shouting out their support. Just watch the last 7 minutes od Ireland v Spain. I have lived in England most of my life and have never seen the English support the Irish. As someone of Irish descent I never support England. One of the reasons being the anti irish 'jokes' that I have heard always. Including the clown Daley Thompsons latest utterance.

• ePHraimAg | Jul 31, 2012, 02:02 PM EDT

  The English Bogey-Man. The Irish Have always loved and lost Her Daughters. We are Your Neighbours By even Mother-Tongue upon These Isles. Our Heritages Our all Of Kings' Men loving english literature that can evenso Be known as Irish. ....et Bon chance mes ami' aussi ! ! !

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 01:55 PM EDT

  Silling, my ancestors were from Ireland. Anorexia kills people --- did you know that?

• tarashavon | Jul 31, 2012, 01:31 PM EDT

  I don't have a problem with the Queen. But to say there are not still lingering racist feelings towards the Irish is ridiculous.

• Silling | Jul 31, 2012, 12:33 PM EDT

  Why are the English cheering for the Irish? It is because they are afraid that we will start singing if we loose.

• Silling | Jul 31, 2012, 12:21 PM EDT

  Sparklet. No, the queen was insulted because he didn't spit. Where were you ancestors from GregShox? Perhaps anorexia runs in the family and that is why you are here.

• willieric | Jul 31, 2012, 12:16 PM EDT

  i've met a lot of irish and english people.............could not ask for a better bunch of sportspeople. Win or lose, the irish sports followers are especially magnanimous and great company.

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 12:08 PM EDT

  Silling -- How dare you say my ancestors were from Roscommon.

• lakeisle | Jul 31, 2012, 12:06 PM EDT

  Nice article, thank you. I've noticed the same in recent years. There are millions of English people who, deep down, are embarrassed and sorry about the history (namely, famine, war, conquest, cultural destruction, injustice, etc), and they make an attempt to wish well for Ireland. Commendable. A good point also - maybe one day soon the majority of Irish people will be more friendly towards their neighbours. Forgiveness.

• Silling | Jul 31, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT

  Response for Gregshox. Because your ancestors were sheep stealers from Roscommon.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 12:01 PM EDT

  Would have loved to see the Queen take off her gloves and spit on her palm, U wasn't aware if that, Silling, and appreciate your sharing it. I don't think the Queen is aware of it either, as I've never seen her remove her gloves. Then again, I don't actually follow her round, so who knows. So was Martin McG insulted do you think - because she didn't spit?

• Silling | Jul 31, 2012, 11:53 AM EDT

  For Sparklet. In Amy Vanderbilts " Everyday Etiquette " 1952, she states. Ladies should remove gloves when shaking hands with people at the level of, Presidents, Bishops, Pope, Prime Ministers, etc. At Cahirmee Fair in Buttevant, the Tinkers spit in their palms when shaking on a deal. Not to spit is taken as an insult. So, don't be so naieve Sparklet, the handshake was a sham and the glove was cremated on the smoldering ashes in the Phoenix Park.

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 11:52 AM EDT

  If all the food was removed from Ireland, why am I still here?

• maryosullivan | Jul 31, 2012, 11:44 AM EDT

  If there's a love fest going on why is Michael McKevitt locked up on the word of a lifetime criminal, why is Gerry McGeough an Marian Price locked up, just to mention three? Why incur the expense to go after Boston College for the "troubles" tapes. And for the record, Blair's apology was for not having done enough during the starvation of Ireland not for the starvation. Since 100,000 soldiers and police, at any given time, removed all the available food from Ireland, what more exactly could he gave done? provide more soldiers to remove more food This is an appalling attempt to rewrite history, same on you

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 11:43 AM EDT

  RockNReel, I think I love you. ;) This is the most frustrating place. You can't seem to hammer the message home, that history is being eradicated, slow but sure. If someone makes a comment that then gets a response with a different pov, you can bet your life that someone will come along, and post an identical opinion to the one that's been answered without any indication that they've read - or understood - the response to the first post!

• GregShox | Jul 31, 2012, 11:41 AM EDT

  No surprise there. The Brits have always cheered for Irish competitors. Did Canadian Pat do a survey at the Olympics to establish who was cheering? I look forward to reading his research when he publishes it.

• jerryoneill | Jul 31, 2012, 11:39 AM EDT

  Historic There are moments in time, that make you pause and look, That you know instinctively, are destined for the history book, That lightening flash insight, that you know the past is past, A new dawning, a bright new day, a new die has been cast, There comes a time when sheer insanity, gives way to common sense, When both sides see eye to eye, and reach across the fence, No talk of starvation or internment, or of explosions or random assassination, Just hopeful feelings of goodwill, just an air of conciliation, Between the once mighty British Empire and the determined Irish nation, The men in the line, were descended from the men of 1916, And the Queen greeted each man warmly, and the Queen wore Green. ©Jerry O'Neill July 5, 2012

• RockNReel | Jul 31, 2012, 11:33 AM EDT

  Does no one here realise the huge population of people with Irish ancestory living in Britain ? Its massive !!! They have huge support and thats not counting first generation Irish living there as well. No Surprise. But, also the English live side by side with the Irish and theres no animosity so why are people so surprised and hailing this as some sort of major breakthrough ???? Get over it !!

• seagreen | Jul 31, 2012, 11:21 AM EDT

  Gloved or ungloved . A handshake is a hand shake, and the circumstances leading up to such an occurance is even more significant. Something good happened. No matter how you slice it

• Jimsteer | Jul 31, 2012, 11:15 AM EDT

  Brilliant!

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 11:14 AM EDT

  The English have always supported the Scots, Irish and Welsh, because in the main, they're a bit naive. They generally have no idea of the politics and the history, and most of those I know genuinely feel that we're all neighbours and should get on. When the IRA bombing was at its peak, many British people thought it was Irish terrorists without any clue as to what led to it. Yes, there's a lot of Irish in the UK, but why can't you people take it as face value and accept that Irish and English get on. The Scots, Welsh, and the Irish, are neighbours of the UK and considered 'family' - they always give Ireland 12 points in the Eurovision song contest too. :) And the Queen never takes her gloves off to shake hands. Talk about clutching at straws! Silling, I spend most of my time in the UK and Ireland, and am qualified to comment. Are you?

• Silling | Jul 31, 2012, 11:11 AM EDT

  If the queen had removed her mitten to shake the hand of Martin McGuinness, that would have been progress. An applause from gloved hands, is but a whisper in a choir at a choral recital. Sorry, Sparklet, DrMcHugh, CitizenWhy, Oonafitz, TisIrish, DrTrelawney, Antoman, Baggie68, Patto69 and Niall O'Dowd, but you are all suffering from the same syndrome, obviously.

• seagreen | Jul 31, 2012, 11:10 AM EDT

  I think a lot of people in both countries have hoped for something like this for a long time. Some hard effort by people of both sides of the fence have enabled something like this to happen A lot of necks were stuck out, and making a stand was difficult Does one forget history, of course not, by let it be history! My thanks to The Irish and English that had the courage to press ahead for a sensible dialogue between both countries.

• paddyRanger | Jul 31, 2012, 11:04 AM EDT

  "It may simply be because massive amounts of British citizens are of Irish ancestry." spot on excellent comment, having grown up in North London (County KILBURN) massive amounts of Londoners have some or a lot of Irish in em.... I don't see why people are surprised

• CanadianPat | Jul 31, 2012, 11:03 AM EDT

  Wise-up,they aren't! It is the large population of Irish living in Britian,Irish Americans,&Irish visiting that are doing all the cheering!

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 10:40 AM EDT

  Oonafitz, it's also because the Irish are well liked wherever they go. There are still bigots around, but in the main, everyone loves the Irish. A lot of Irish do live in the UK, but there's also a lot of Brits relocating to Ireland. Politics aside, we all get on fine. I married an Englishman. He'll do. :)

• DrMcHugh | Jul 31, 2012, 10:39 AM EDT

  Thankyou for this excellent article by Niall O'Dowd, highlighting the hopeful changes that reconciliation can bring to the people of Ireland and to the people of England.

• CitizenWhy | Jul 31, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

  The reconciliation between the British and the Irish is an example to the world. Such a reconciliation can never be entirely fair, and all wrongs cannot be righted, but peace and cooperation can be achieved between old foes if there is consideration for a rough justice and a generous good will. Time for Ireland to stop fighting the War of Independence and the Civil War and go into the future not the past. I suspect the British also do not like the way Ireland has been treated by Germany and the EZ.

• oonafitz | Jul 31, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

  It may simply be because massive amounts of British citizens are of Irish ancestry.

• TisEyerish | Jul 31, 2012, 10:08 AM EDT

  It's time to forgive...although we should never forget. One can only hope that "The Troubles" never return. It's time to let it rest. I don't live in Ireland (although my heart and soul do), but I will say that the most poignant moment of my trip there was to see the border between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland had been dismantled. It gave me great peace, to know that the barrier no longer existed. May it always be so. May the people of Ireland find that peace...they deserve it and their ancestors fought mightily for it. By holding on to the hatred, people are only hurting themselves.

• DrTrelawney | Jul 31, 2012, 09:39 AM EDT

  What do you mean "all changed utterly". Nothing has changed in this area. The English have always cheered for the Irish in sporting events.

• antoman | Jul 31, 2012, 08:11 AM EDT

  Fellow Islanders. You will see Man United tops in Cork City just as easily as you will in Old Trafford. Tis the Monarchy us Irish never cared for on account they hoodwinked the English into believing they were not German. :)

• Baggie68 | Jul 31, 2012, 07:20 AM EDT

  The English people - as opposed to their ruling class - have always been pretty good to Ireland. Casual racism was the worst they could be guilty of. The Irish habit of backing everyone against England is also reflected in US-Canadian relations; Australia-New Zealand or most of Europe against Germany. Nothing to see here.

• patto69 | Jul 31, 2012, 05:25 AM EDT

  Good article by Niall and I noticed this myself. The great cheer by the British public when the Irish team entered the arean was first class and even the cross country riders were given a massive round yesterday. Long may it continue.